Jesus had offered Himself as King to Israel, in fulfillment of prophecy (ch. 21).
The religious leaders rejected Him, and questioned Him, seeking to trap Him in His words (ch. 21,22).
He had identified their errors with parables, with direct answers to their questions, and with a question (22:42-45). But the religious leaders have become hardened in their rejection of Him. In ch. 23, Jesus denounces and condemns them strongly. cp. Mark 12:38-40; Luk 20:45-47
But first, He warns the people against following these false leaders - -
23:1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
23:2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:
23:3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, [that] observe and do; {cp. Deu 17:9-12}
but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
23:4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay [them] on men's shoulders;
but they [themselves] will not move them with one of their fingers.
23:5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men:
they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
23:6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
23:7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
23:8 But be not ye called Rabbi:
for one is your Master, [even] Christ; and all ye are brethren.
23:9 And call no [man] your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
23:10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, [even] Christ.
23:11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased;
and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
the scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat- ie., they have his place of authority.
It was their responsibility to teach and apply the Law of Moses, to the people. cp. Ezra 7:6,10,25,26; Mal 2:7
Therefore, do what they say, but not what they do {paraphrase of v.3}- ie.,
Since everyone is responsible for obedience to God's Word, obey what they teach you.
But do not follow their example, since they themselves do not live in heart obedience to God's Word.
These religious leaders made a display of external righteousness by -
Burdening others with strict interpretation of the Law, while excusing themselves. v.4
Phylacteries - small boxes, containing a portion of scripture, which were strapped on the arm or forehead, in literal compliance with Deu 6:6-8.
Borders {ie., hems} of their garments - were meant to remind them to keep and do God's commandments from the heart (Num 15:38,39). But these men were not seeking to serve the Lord with their whole heart. While neglecting God's Word, they enlarged their phylacteries and garment fringes to advertise their superior spirituality.
Jesus' followers are to lead others to God, rather than to themselves -
be not ye called Rabbi {lit., 'great one', a title given to teachers}... one is your Master... (v.7,8) -
cp. 2Cor 4:5; Jam 3:1; 1Pet 5:2,3 (Christ is to be pre-eminent. cf. Col 1:18 with 3Joh 1:9)
call no [man] your father upon the earth... one is your Father... (v.9)
A father is a giver of life. A man who leads another to spiritual life through faith in Christ, may be regarded as a father in the faith (cp. 1Cor 4:15; 1Tim 5:1). But such a man cannot be regarded as the source of blessing, life or strength. Rather, the believer is to look to the Father in heaven (cp. Mat 6:9-13; Heb 12:9; Rom 8:15).
Jesus pronounces seven 'woes' upon the scribes and Pharisees (cp. Zech 11:17) - -
23:13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men:
for ye neither go in [yourselves], neither suffer {ie., allow} ye them that are entering to go in.
They excluded themselves and others from the Kingdom. cp. Mat 21:32; Joh 9:22
23:14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer:
therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
They covered their crooked business dealings with religious hypocrisy. cp. Ex 22:22-24; 2Pet 2:3
23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte,
and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
They converted others, not to be servants of God, but to be followers of their sinful ways. cp. Joh 8:44
23:16 Woe unto you, [ye] blind guides, which say,
Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing;
but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
23:17 [Ye] fools and blind: for whether {ie., which} is greater,
the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?
23:18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing;
but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.
23:19 [Ye] fools and blind: for whether [is] greater,
the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? {cp. Ex 29:37}
23:20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.
23:21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.
23:22 And he that shall swear by heaven,
sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. {cp. Isa 66:1}
They assigned true value to earthly riches, rather than to spiritual realities. cp. Isa 56:10,11
23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin,
and have omitted the weightier [matters] of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith:
these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. {cp. Luk 11:42; Mat 12:7}
23:24 [Ye] blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
They kept the law in trivial detail (even tithing from their spice racks),
while neglecting the more important duties, and while accepting gross error. cp. Mat 15:3-6
23:25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter,
but within they are full of extortion and excess.
23:26 [Thou] blind Pharisee, cleanse first that [which is] within the cup and platter,
that the outside of them may be clean also.
23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward,
but are within full of dead [men's] bones, and of all uncleanness.
23:28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men,
but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
They gave attention to external cleanness, while neglecting their internal corruption.
cp. Mat 15:19,20; Luk 11:39,40,44
23:29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
23:30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers,
we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
23:31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves,
that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. {cp. Luk 11:47,48}
23:32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
They considered themselves superior to their predecessors,
but in reality followed close in their footsteps. cp. v.34,35; Acts 7:51,52
The strong language, which Jesus used in warning, is consistent with the severe condemnation which must fall upon religious people whose hearts are far from God...
23:33 [Ye] serpents, [ye] generation of vipers,
how can ye escape the damnation of hell? {cp. Mat 3:7; Joh 8:44}
23:34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes:
and [some] of them ye shall kill and crucify;
and [some] of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues,
and persecute [them] from city to city: {cp. Joh 16:2}
23:35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth,
from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias,
whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
23:36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
- - a specific judgment upon that generation (ie., the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD).
the blood of... Abel unto... Zecharias son of Barachias {cp. Zech 1:1}-
ie., They would be held accountable for silencing all of God's messengers from the beginning to the end of the OT period.
23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
[thou] that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee,
how often would I have gathered thy children together,
even as a hen gathereth her chickens under [her] wings, and ye would not! {cp. Mat 11:28-30}
23:38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. {cp. Jer 22:5}
23:39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth,
till ye shall say, Blessed [is] he that cometh in the name of the Lord. {cp. Luk 13:34,35}
O Jerusalem... - Though rejected, the King loves His people.
He would have gathered them, but they refused.
Now He weeps for them, and the sorrows that will come upon them. cp. Luk 19:41-44
your house is left unto you desolate- The 'house' refers to the Temple.
God's house, without Him, becomes 'your' house. cp. Mat 21:13
you will not see me...
until ye say blessed is He that cometh...- v.39; cp. Mat 21:9; Psa 118:26
The crowd had said these words, but they had not received their King.
They did not know what they said, or who He was.
Now, they must wait until His second coming for the establishment of His Kingdom.
cp. Hos 3:4,5; Zech 12:10; Jer 23:5-8; Mal 3:1-4
Note that the following conditions must also be fulfilled before the Kingdom is established:
until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. Luk 21:24 -
ie., until Gentile world dominion is brought to an end by Christ's return. cp. Dan 2:34,35
until the fulness of the Gentiles be brought in. Rom 11:25-27; cp. Acts 15:13-18
ie., until the full number of those who will believe (from among both Jews and Gentiles) is brought into the Church of Christ. [adapted from ScofRB]